What I Learned: Week 9

Spaniards start putting Christmas decor out in stores around Halloween. Salamanca has one of the oldest universities in Europe. "Puente" in Spanish means bridge across a river, overpass, or a holiday lasting multiple days . Strikes sometimes shut down universities in Spain. There are the remnants of ancient Roman and Arabic towns all over Spain. It isn't …

Salamanca in Pictures

  Went with some friends for a quick day trip to the city of Salamanca this weekend! It was a surprisingly long 3 hour bus ride from Madrid, but once we were there we found a beautiful, brown sandstone filled city full of ancient buildings from the 15th and 16th centuries. Among the many churches in …

Oporto, Portugal in Pictures

After a weekend in Segovia and a weekend in Barcelona, my friends and I had one more trip planned before a few weekends of relaxation in Madrid. We spent last weekend in Oporto, Portugal! It was an incredibly beautiful city of colorful architecture, intricate tiles, winding streets, and open plazas. There's a river, a beach, …

Is Spain Different?

Since I’ve come to Spain, I’ve been asked numerous times why I decided to study abroad in Madrid. In the US, I would quickly respond with a generic answer: that I wanted to go to a Spanish speaking country to better my language skills (because I’ve been studying Spanish since I was in kindergarten) and …